And there are doubts over Kaka's fitness, given his three seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu have been plagued by injury, but Bonera is in no doubt that the 2007 Ballon d'Or winner would be a tremendous addition to Massimiliano Allegri's squad,

"On a footballing level, he still has a lot to give, and he's also a great person," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It would be a positive to have him here with us for a number of reasons, not least in the way he trains. Ricky is a fantastic professional and he would be a great example for all of the kids."

Bonera freely admits that the whole club could do with a lift following the sale of star duo Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Paris Saint-Germain in July.

However, the veteran centre-back insists that Milan can still be competitive this season, arguing that they just need to take a leaf out of Juventus' book.

"Technically, we have lost a lot," Bonera conceded, alluding to Milan's summer sales. "But football teaches us that the players are one thing and the team is another thing altogether.

"You can compensate for certain deficiencies in the collective and Juve are a good example of this: last year nobody would have thought they would win the championship, but they finished the season undefeated.

"The fans must have faith - because we do. Building something again is the big challenge for all those who are still here."

Indeed, Bonera dismissed former midfielder Gennaro Gattuso's suggestion that the Milan dressing room is split into several warring factions.

"Perhaps not having won anything in recent memory magnifies episodes and incidents that are actually quite common," the former Italy international mused. "A dose of indiscipline exists in all teams and all dressing rooms.

"It is true that at one point we went a bit off the mark in terms of our usual standards, but now the climate is very different."

The 31-year-old Bonera, who was capped 16 times by his country, joined Milan from Parma in 2006.